FIG. 1 shows a commonly used network arrangement in which a plurality of local computer systems in a local area network (LAN) may access a plurality of remote servers through the Internet. Each remote server may include World Wide Web sites (web sites) that each include a plurality of World Wide Web pages (web pages). Each local computer system may access the remote web sites with web browser software, such as Netscape Navigator.TM., available from Netscape Communications Corporation of Mountain View, Calif.
The World Wide Web is a collection of servers on the Internet that utilize the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP). HTTP is a known application protocol that provides users with access to files (which can be in different formats, such as text, graphics, images, sound, and video) using a standard page description language known as Hypertext Markup Language (HTML). HTML is used to transmit data and instructions between a remote computer (server) and a local computer (client) in a form that is understandable to the browser software on the client computer. More particularly, HTML files may include many different types of format descriptions that are translated and displayed by the client browser. One such format description, for example, may describe a template for receiving information that is intended to modify a selected database on a remote server. A remote database application program, also stored on the remote server, receives the information from the template and consequently modifies the database. Information entered in the template by the client browser typically is transferred into the database, via the database application program, by an interface specification (interface) that is a part of a hypertext server within the server. The interface format may be any known interface format such as, for example, Common Gateway Interface (CGI), Internet Server Application Program Interface (ISAPI, co-developed by Microsoft Corporation and Process Software Company), or JAVA Applet (developed by Sun Microsystems). CGI is discussed in more detail in "The WWW Common Gateway Interface", version 1.1, in Internet draft form, dated Feb. 16, 1996, by DRT Robinson.
As shown in simplified form in FIG. 2, the interface is a data specification used by the hypertext server to format data transferred between the client web browser and a database application program stored on the server (application program). More particularly, the hypertext server first extracts data submitted from the templates (by the client browser), translates such data into the format of the interface specification, and then transmits the translated data to the application program to update the data stored in the database. After the database is updated, the hypertext server may create a new HTML document reflecting the modifications to the database. The new HTML document then may be transmitted to the client, through the network, for review by the users of the client.
Problems arise, however, when the client is not connected to the network and thus, not able to access the database or the application program. Specifically, the client can not modify the database until reconnected to the network.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to have an apparatus and method that enables a client to locally update a database, normally located on a remote server, when the client is not connected to the network.